Thursday, February 11, 2016

A Visit to Korean Navy Combat Cruise

I would like to begin this post with a confession. This post has comfortably sit in the draft for the longest time ever. HAHA. This event is dated back in November 2014! Yes, this is one story that I told you I still haven't shared since 2015 and 2016. But finally, finally, it's here! Yay.

So, this visit happened just a day after I watch the Korean Navy Combat Cruise performance and also the entertaining show performed by The Painters: Hero. The visit, I believe is part of the Korean Navy program, probably to introduce their Navy and also as the channel of education and information for ordinary citizen who is curious about how the Korean Navy Cruise look like.

Anyway, I went there with a friend of mine who also went with me to the event from the previous day. We almost gave up going there because (1) we woke up late and (2) the taxi that we booked did not show up even after thirty minutes! Back then there was no Grab or Uber like how it is now. So we thought that we could not make it anymore. The day before we were texted that the gathering spot will be in Mega Kuningan but what we did not know is that they were referring to Lobby Mega Kuningan in Lotte Shopping Avenue. We almost lose our hope and thought that we could not go but it turned out that the bus has not yet gone! I think we were both very lucky because after that, the bus went and off we go! Woohoo. Oh, in case you are curious how we can take part on the tour. All we had to do was just registering our full name and phone number and they gave us the confirmation message.

Luckily there was no traffic jam so we arrived smoothly at Tanjung Priok Harbor where the cruise was. Oh, also, besides my friend and I, most of the visitors are school kids with their parents and teachers. I think one of the main reason is because it was held on weekday, even my friend and I are skipping class. lol. But maybe it was only in our group because when I saw the other group, there are couple of girls around our age too.

Upon arrival, we were divided into three groups of about fifteen to twenty people so we can simultaneously do the tour. I was in group A where we started the tour from the first cruise. If I am not mistaken there were two cruises that we can take a look on that day, or is it actually one cruise with two floors, I did not really remember ^^;

As we stepped inside into the first floor there was this Korean guy who explained things to us in his good English and on top of that, he is good-looking too. HAHA omg. Also, the guy on the left is from Lotte Shopping Avenue who helped translate the English to Indonesian for the children.

I honestly did not really remember what was explained on that time, since, well it was already more than a year ago. hAHA. But I think it was something related to the cruises that Korean owned and the country that the Navy has been to. We also went to the outdoor area with no cover and it was so so hot to the point that your shoes might stick to the floor if you stand too long.

There was also this boat and while people were busy taking selfies, I was busy bombarding question to the navy guy. Lol. Like how he is actually serving his duty in army right now and actually in the middle of his university study. I was not familiar back then that Korean guy tend to start the first year of uni and then take leave to serve for the army and go back to uni after that. Also, when I asked why he chose Navy he said that there were more opportunities to travel overseas and visit countries like what he did at that moment. But the downside is that Navy obviously spend more time on the sea rather than the land. But he said he is enjoying it and he will end his army service by December that year, meaning that he must have gone back to university by now haha.

After that, our group went to the second floor ((or another cruise I am still confused if they are actually one cruise or two? haha)). While in there, we were being escorted by another Navy. In this floor we got to learn more about Korean history and also the weapon that Korean Navy had.

We went inside this air conditioned room where there are videos that showcase the miniature of the weapon and things like that. There was this middle-aged man whose name is Mr. Park who helped explain us the stuffs there though honestly I did not really understand about those things. Actually the other people from my group have already left but since Mr. Park has very nicely started a conversation with my friend and I, we can not leave just like that. He handed a wireless headphone where we can listen to the audio of the video showed there.

He then tried to explain the Navy stuffs in English while looking at his notes. It was quite hard while trying to capture what he was saying. But then we talked about ordinary stuffs like if I was interested in Korean culture, I can easily hear what he says. I guess it was because he picked difficult words explaining the Navy terms haha. Anyhow, we talked about how I would like to visit Korea someday and how he said I already nail the Korean style ((because of my red hair)) and how he has just flown to Indonesia that day and join the Korean Navy for this visitation. After a brief conversation, my friend and I bid him goodbye and we catch up with the rest of the group.

Not long after that, we just stroll around the second floor and head back down since it was so hot. This other Korean Navy helped escort us and he kindly reminded us to be careful when going down. I had a brief chat with him where he asked if I like K-pop and I said yes and that my favorite group is SHINee. He said he knew SHINee and agreed that they are a good group. He said that Indonesia's weather is very hot and I said yes, that's why I wanted to visit Korea and see snow! In the end, he offered to help carry my bag while I go down because my bag was very big since I brought my laptop and camera that day. But if I remembered correctly I politely decline his order.

In the end, we went back to this spot which is like an open dining room and watch a documentary video while waiting for the other group to finish their tour. And being a chitty chatty person, also in my effort to get to know more about Korean people and culture, my friend and I decided to talk with some of the Navy and take pictures with them, including the first Navy guy who by far spoke the best English out of everyone. haha.

It was a very pleasant visit and everything is coordinated very very well. Even though we almost could not make it, I am glad we made it and got to see the inside of Korean Navy Cruise and talked with them, The people there are very kind, polite and friendly. Also, they all made an effort to talk to you even though their English are not very good. If there are more events like this in the future, I am more than happy to take part on it and share the experience with you guys. Though hopefully it won't take that long for me to post. haha.

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